Cover garment for changing clothing

ABSTRACT

A cover garment is worn to provide privacy when changing clothes, and is particularly suited for use when changing into or out of a swimsuit or wetsuit in public places. The garment is generally structured in the form of a skirt and includes a stretchable waistband, a front panel and a rear panel. The front and rear panels overlap at the opposite sides of the garment to provide longitudinal slit openings on each side that allow for passage of the user&#39;s hands under the garment in order to grasp and pull-down or pull-up the clothing under the cover garment. The overlapping arrangement of the front and rear panels allows the user to pull on or remove the swimsuit, wetsuit or dry street clothing in a single motion, while remaining covered at all times. In a preferred embodiment the garment is made of a single material, such as a terry fabric similar to a beach towel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a garment, and, more particularly, to a skirt type cover garment which allows a user to change clothing while remaining covered between the waist and knees.

2 . Discussion of the Related Art

When the need arises to change clothing in a public place, it can be difficult to maintain one's privacy. For instance, when leaving the beach, many beach goers prefer to change out of their wet bathing suit and into dry street clothing. Moreover, surfers routinely change between casual street clothing and a bathing suit or wetsuit when arriving and leaving the beach. Typically, surfers will change into and out of their wetsuit or swimsuit while standing next to their vehicle in a public parking lot or street. In an effort to maintain some level of privacy, many beach goers, including surfers, will wrap a beach towel around their waist and attempt to remain covered while changing between street clothes and a swimsuit. It is, however, impossible to remain fully covered by the towel, as the beach towel wrap inevitably gets pulled up with the clothing. Often times, the towel wrap may come undone and spring open or fall to the ground as the person is desperately attempting to pull up their clothing without being seen.

Accordingly, there remains a need for a cover garment which is particularly adapted to be worn around the waist and which is structured to allow clothing to be pulled up or removed from under the cover garment in a single, easy motion while remaining completely covered in the front and rear of the lower body between the waist and knees.

Objects and Advantages of the Invention

Considering the foregoing, is it a primary object of the present invention to provide a cover garment that is adapted to be worn in order to provide privacy when changing clothes, and particularly when changing into or out of a swimsuit or wetsuit in public places.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cover garment which is structured to fully cover the user's private areas below the waist throughout the process of removing and donning clothing.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a cover garment that is generally in the form of a skirt to be worn about the waist, and wherein the cover garment includes longitudinal overlapped slit openings on the opposite sides to allow the user to conveniently reach under the cover garment in order to pull-up or pull-down clothing in a single, uninterrupted motion while remaining completely covered in the front and rear of the lower body between the waist and knees.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a cover garment, as set for the above, which is manufactured from a single, relatively low cost material, such as a terry fabric similar to a beach towel.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a cover garment, as set forth above, which is of relatively simple construction and which can be offered to the consumer at a relatively low price.

These and other objects of a present invention are more readily apparent with reference to the detailed description and accompanying drawing.

Summary of the Invention

The present invention is directed to a cover garment for use when changing clothing. The cover garment is particularly useful when changing between clothing and a swimsuit in public places. The cover garment is preferably made of a terry fabric, similar to a beach towel, and is structured in the form of a skirt with an elastic waist band and longitudinal slit openings on opposite sides formed by overlapping front and rear panels. The longitudinal slit openings extend from the waistband to the bottom edge of the garment, with the front and rear panels overlapping at the slit openings to maintain full privacy. The front and rear panels do not separate along the longitudinal slit openings, except to allow passage of the wearer's hands therethrough. In use, the garment is pulled up over the user's clothing. For instance, when changing from a wet swimsuit and into dry clothing, the garment is pulled up over the wet swimsuit so that the waist band of the cover garment is slightly above the waist of the swimsuit. The swimsuit can then be pulled down by reaching the left and right hands through the longitudinal slit side openings and grasping the upper portion of the swimsuit. Likewise, dry clothing can be pulled up around the user's waist while remaining completely covered between the waist and knees. Once the user has pulled on the dry street clothing (e.g. shorts or pants.) and fastened them, the cover garment can be removed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side-perspective view of the cover garment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the waistband taken along the line indicated by the arrows 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side-elevational view showing a user wearing the cover garment over a swimsuit prior to removal of the swimsuit;

FIG. 4 is a side-elevational view demonstrating removal of the swimsuit while wearing the cover garment.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to the several views of the drawings, the cover garment of the present invention is shown and is generally indicated as 10. The cover garment 10 is structured in the form of a skirt and includes a stretchable waistband 20, a front panel 30 extending down from the waistband to a bottom edge 32, and a rear panel 40 extending down from the waistband 20 a bottom edge 42.

To accommodate for varying waist sizes, the waistband 20 is provided with an elastomeric construction, allowing the waistband 20 to stretch and conform to the waist size, while holding snug around the waist when in a relaxed state. Naturally, the cover garment 20 will be manufactured in a range of sizes from small children to large adults. An example of the elastomeric construction of the waistband 20 is shown in FIG. 2, wherein the waistband is formed into a closed sleeve 22 with an elastomeric band 24 contained within the closed sleeve 22. With the exception of the elastomeric band 24, the entire garment 10 is formed of a single material, such as a terry fabric similar to that used in the manufacture of beach towels and bath towels. As seen in FIG. 2, the closed sleeve 22 of the waist band 20 is formed by overlapping the same material used in the construction of the front and rear panels.

While only one side of the garment 30 is shown in FIG. 1 the opposite side is identical in structure with each of the front and rear panels including a longitudinal edge at each side of the garment extending from the waist band 20 to the bottom edge 32, 42 of the respective front and rear panels 30, 40. More specifically, the front panel 30 is provided with longitudinal side edges 34 at each of the opposite sides of the garment extending from the waistband 20 down to the bottom edge 32. Similarly, the rear panel 40 is provided with longitudinal side edges 44 on opposite sides of the garment extending down from the waist band 20 to the bottom edge 42 of the rear panel. The longitudinal side edges 34 and 44 of the respective front and rear panel 30, 40 are specifically cut and arranged so that the front and rear panels 30, 40 overlap in the area indicted as 52, on the opposite sides of the garment. This overlapping structure creates a longitudinal slit opening 60 on each of the opposite sides of the garment. The slit openings 60 are specifically structured and disposed to allow for passage of the user's hands under the garment 10 in order to grasp the waist or upper portion of a clothing garment 70 (e.g. a swimsuit, wetsuit, shorts, pants) so that the user can pull- down or pull-up the clothing 70 under the cover garment 10 while remaining covered at all times.

FIGS. 3 and 4 demonstrate use of the cover garment 10 for changing clothes in a public place. Specifically, an example is shown wherein a user is changing out of a wet swimsuit so that the user can change into dry street clothing. In this example, the cover garment 10 is pulled up over the wet swimsuit 70 so that the waistband 20 of the cover garment 10 is slightly above the waist of the swimsuit. The swim suit 70 can then be pulled down by reaching the left and right hands through the longitudinal slit openings 60 and grasping the waist or upper portion swimsuit 70, as seen in FIG. 4. The swimsuit 70 can then be pulled down and removed in a single uninterrupted motion while the front and rear panels 30, 40 remain in covering relation to the user's private areas below the waist. In a similar action, dry clothing (e.g. shorts or pants) can be pulled up around the user's waist in a single, uninterrupted motion as the left and right hands of the user pass through the overlapping longitudinal slit side openings 60 and under the cover garment 10. At all times, the front and rear panels 30, 40 maintain the user's private areas on the front and rear of the lower body fully covered. Once the clothing being changed into is fastened around the waist, the cover garment 10 can be removed by simply grasping the waistband 20 and, while slightly stretching the waistband, pulling the garment 10 down to the feet and stepping out of the garment.

While the present invention has been shown and described in accordance with a preferred and practical embodiment thereof, it is recognized that departures from the instant disclosure are contemplated within the spirit and scope of the present invention. 

1. A cover garment for providing privacy when changing articles of clothing comprising: a waistband; a front panel extending down from said waistband and having a bottom edge, and left and right side edges extending between said waistband and said bottom edge on opposite left and right sides of said cover garment; a rear panel extending down from said waistband and having a bottom edge, and left and right side edges extending between said waistband and said bottom edge on the opposite left and right sides of said cover garment; said left side edge of said rear panel being positioned forwardly of said left side edge of said front panel to define an area of overlap of said front and rear panels on the left side of said cover garment, and said right side edge of said rear panel being positioned forwardly of said right side edge of said front panel to define an area of overlap of said front and rear panels on the right side of said cover garment; and a left longitudinal slit opening defined between said left side edges of said front and rear panels along said area of overlap on said left side of said cover garment, and a right longitudinal slit opening defined between said right side edges of said front and rear panels along said area of overlap on said right side of said cover garment, and said left and right longitudinal slit openings being structured and disposed for passage of a wearer's hands therethrough in order to grasp and pull on and remove articles of clothing being changed underneath said cover garment.
 2. The cover garment as recited in claim 1 wherein said waistband is adjustable to fit a plurality of waist sizes.
 3. The cover garment as recited in claim 2 wherein said waistband is stretchable.
 4. The cover garment as recited in claim 3 wherein said waistband includes an elastomeric material to promote stretching and return to a relaxed state.
 5. The cover garment as recited in claim 1 wherein said left and right longitudinal slit openings extend from said bottom edge of said front and rear panels to said waistband.
 6. The cover garment as recited in claim 1 wherein said front and rear panels are structured and disposed to remain overlapped at said areas of overlap on said left and right sides of said cover garment when the wearer is pulling on removing the articles of clothing being changed underneath said cover garment.
 7. The cover garment as recited in claim 1 wherein said front panel and said rear panel are manufactured of a terry fabric. 